Corey Pronman is ESPN's NHL Draft and Prospects analyst. He provides analysis on the top draft-eligible players, prospects drafted by NHL teams and all other relevant prospect information. He lives in New York.

Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat are two of those forwards who have played big roles for Tampa Bay, and are at the top of my latest Calder rankings.

"Both are really smart, competitive and skilled," Tampa Bay assistant general manager Julien BriseBois said. "Their skill level has far gone underappreciated. If everyone knew [about their skill] including ourselves, they wouldn't have gone undrafted as long as they did.

"Both Ondrej and Tyler are both phenomenal penalty killers with their speed and competitiveness, but also threats offensively on the PK. Johnson has great speed and release on his shot. Palat has been a late bloomer physically and as a hockey player. He's always battled well, but now has additional physical maturity and explosive as a skater."

A lot has changed from my Dec. 5 update. Johnson has mildly separated from the pack, with the next four players forming the next tier. A common comment I hear from readers is that there should be an adjustment based on age and potential. As of now, the Calder trophy does not specify that, it simply awards the most proficient rookie, but obviously players such as Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones, Valeri Nichushkin and Jacob Trouba would be atop my rankings if age was a main factor.

Johnson has played more than 20 minutes per game from December until now. He's lined up against the opposition's best players, in all situations, and has excelled in this role. Last season's AHL MVP, Johnson is a quick forward with great two-way hockey sense. Like teammate St. Louis, Johnson is undersized and went undrafted.